MADRID.- The Museo del Prado, in 2010, concluded the third consecutive year surpassing the 2.7 million annual visitors, a figure that was reached for the first time since the opening of its expansion. The final number of visitors received by the Museum…
Metropolitan Museum Celebrates the Holidays by Opening on "Holiday Monday" December 27
NEW YORK, NY.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be open to the public on Monday, December 27 (Christmas/New Year’s Week), as part of the Museum’s popular “Holiday Mondays” program. Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum, commented,…
Stonehenge Gets Multimillion-Pound Grant for Major Makeover to Help Restore Dignity
LONDON (AP).- Stonehenge is getting a multimillion-pound grant that conservators say will help restore some dignity to a World Heritage site blighted by busy roads and cramped facilities. English Heritage said Friday that it now has about two-thirds of…
128 Years After Construction, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia Finally Becomes a Church
BARCELONA (REUTERS).- For decades tourists have visited the twisting spires of Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia church, but 128 years after construction began Catholic faithful will worship there for the first time on Sunday. Pope Benedict XVI will c…
Public Takes a Shine to Naked New York Statue by Colombian Artist Fernando Botero
NEW YORK (REUTERS).- Colombian artist Fernando Botero is happy with the intimate attention New Yorkers and tourists pay to his giant bronze statue of a naked Adam at an upscale shopping mall. The statue along with a nearby Eve — both in the unmistakab…
Thai Khon Mask Maker Keeps Disappearing Tradition Alive in the Saphan Mai Area
BANGKOK (AP).- Any taxi can take you to one of Bangkok’s glitzy new shopping malls, but you’ll have to poke around and trod carefully down a crumbling, fetid old alley in a working-class district to find a true artifact of genuine Thai culture. The ne…
Up to 100 Greek Culture Ministry Workers Shut Down the Acropolis, Clash with Police
ATHENS (AP).- Riot police clashed with protesting workers barricading the ancient Acropolis on Thursday, using tear gas to clear the entrance to one of Greece’s most famous landmarks. Up to 100 Culture Ministry workers had shut down the Acropolis on We…
Under Unusual Arrangement, in Austria, Castles Aren’t Just for Kings
VIENNA (AP).- Robert Tidmarsh’s eyes light up when he talks about the sprawling park surrounding Schoenbrunn Palace, one of Austria’s most famous landmarks — and his to enjoy every time he comes home. “My garden’s quite nice!” says the 59-year-old…
Under Unusual Arrangement, in Austria, Castles Aren’t Just for Kings
VIENNA (AP).- Robert Tidmarsh’s eyes light up when he talks about the sprawling park surrounding Schoenbrunn Palace, one of Austria’s most famous landmarks — and his to enjoy every time he comes home. “My garden’s quite nice!” says the 59-year-old…
Landscape Exhibition Opens at New York State Museum
ALBANY, NY.- “Not Just Another Pretty Place: The Landscape of New York” opens at the New York State Museum September 3 showcasing the many different ways views of New York have been captured and used by artists, photographers, scientists and…